Last Friday Night
by alicemorganss
Summary: Joan would like to pass the information onto the new agent under her command of how the boys club can be navigated. Joan/Annie friendship, implied Arthur/Joan.


Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. If I did, there would be more Arthur in the episodes, which would lead to more Joan and Arthur :)

* * *

Joan and Annie walked quickly through the maze of desks, and up the stairs towards Joan's office.

As Joan crossed to her desk to sit down, Annie stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

"Annie" Joan said, making Annie come into her office.

"Do you have any plans later" she asked the green operative.

"Uh, no ma'am" Annie responded quickly. "None tonight."

"Good" Joan said, "I would like to talk to you, outside the office. Strictly professional though."

"Um, sure" Annie said, unsure of what she had done.

"You didn't do anything wrong Annie, at least not yet" Joan said, deciphering Annie's apprehensive facial expression.

"Okay then" Joan said, after Annie nodded. "Get that file finished and meet me here."

"Yes ma'am" Annie said, leaving the office.

Joan's phone rang a few minutes after Annie left.

"Yes" she answered, seeing the extension that was calling her.

"I heard you were taking Annie out" he started.

"A hello would be nice," she told him.

"Same to you dear" he joked back.

"I'm just going to tell her what she's up against in this boys club Arthur" Joan told him.

"I don't have a problem with it," he told her, "I don't think there's anyone more qualified than you to teach her how to succeed in the boys club."

"How did that reach you anyway," Joan asked, "I only asked her a few minutes ago."

"Apparently your assistant and my assistant are chatty" he stated.

Joan made a noise of slight disapproval into the phone.

"Can I meet you for dinner after" he asked.

"If you're lucky, maybe," she replied.

"Alright, I'll see you later" he told her and hung up the phone.

She shook her head and hung up her phone. As she looked up she saw Annie poised and ready to knock on her door.

"Brought the file" Annie said handing it to her.

Joan took it, and put it in her inbox while calling her assistant into her office.

"I'd like my inbox packed up, send it to Arthur. He will know what to do with it. Thank you" Joan said as she put her overcoat on and grabbed her purse from the coat rack beside her desk.

Her assistant nodded and grabbed an envelope and started to put files in it as Annie and Joan walked out the door.

As the twosome stepped outside, Joan put her sunglasses on; the sun was just starting to set in Langley.

"We'll take my car" Joan said, reaching into her purse for her keys. "No offense, but I'd rather not look like a target."

"None taken" Annie said, wondering how her boss knew what car she drove.

Finally reaching the senior parking lot, which Annie noted was a lot closer than the field operatives' parking lot, she looked at the two matching cars that sat idly next to each other. She wondered briefly if one of those cars belonged to her boss.

"Wow" she said, stepping up beside the two cars, noting absentmindedly that she was right.

Joan smiled and let her observe the cars.

"How do you tell the difference," she noticed the two cars were identical to the naked eye.

"Besides the license plates, easy, mine's faster" Joan said, unlocking the door and getting in the driver's seat.

Annie stepped up to the passenger door and let herself in, noticing it still had that new car smell.

"You want to go far in the CIA," Joan said, starting the car.

"Yes" Annie said quickly.

"Good" Joan said, smiling at her passenger slightly before throwing the car in reverse and leaving her parking spot.

Before reaching the gate, Annie noticed the windows were being rolled down. As they passed the guard station, Joan waved with one hand and rolled the windows up as they exited the gates of headquarters. They were shrouded in darkness once again as the deep tinted windows were rolled up.

"It's a security measure," Joan told her as she maneuvered the back streets to town. "Only a select few people have windows tinted this deep, Arthur and I are two of them."

"But why" Annie asked, knowing most other heads of bureaus didn't have tinted windows.

"Let's just say when you've worked for the CIA as long as we have, you earn your fair share of enemies. And being the head of Clandestine Services, Arthur has a lot more."

Annie nodded and stared out the window, watching the town pass her by.

"I hope you don't mind this place" Joan nodded towards the entrance as she pulled up to the valet curb.

"Uh, no not at all" Annie told her, looking at the fancy looking bistro.

The valet opened both of their doors and nodded.

"Mrs. Campbell, good evening, the usual parking space" he asked.

"That will be fine," she told him, smiling at the young man.

Annie watched the display carefully and held back any facial expression.

"When you come here as often as I do, you get perks" Joan shrugged, moving towards the entrance as Annie followed.

The two were seated in a private room quickly and both ordered wine, Joan a white, Annie a red.

"The CIA is different than any other federal agency you could work for. It's always been a faceless, monolithic institution. We're called officers, not agents, and we don't carry badges, or guns, or get our medals we've received. Everything goes into the vault" Joan began.

The waiter opened the door to the room and Joan paused, watching as the young man set her glass down in front of her.

"The boys club is a difficult place to navigate" Joan told Annie as their waiter brought their drinks and left them in private.

"You have to be a cold fish" Annie remarked, watching Joan's expression.

"Essentially yes" Joan told her honestly, "You can't care about what the others think, and you need to get the job done, as quickly and efficiently as possible."

"That's how you get in," Annie asked.

"Usually" Joan said.

Annie shifted in her seat, seemingly uncomfortable.

"Just spit it out" Joan said, taking a sip from her wine as she watched Annie squirm.

"What about the other thing, the Club Med without the drinks?" she asked.

"You mean the inner agency dating" Joan said, raising her eyebrow and fingering the stem of her wine glass.

"Yeah" Annie said.

"Its just a suggestion, not an actual policy" Joan started. "Its up to you whether its your thing or not." You can choose whether or not you go to the mixers that are held." She fingered her ring and Annie noted the way she played with it as she answered.

"I can let you in on a secret, it only gets harder the more years you work. We were all trained to lie, to everyone, strangers, people we love, etcetera. In this job there is misdirection and double-talking. You live with it, you love with it, and it's hard."

Annie watched the emotions play across her boss' face as she spoke, and carefully glanced away as her boss' eyes reached hers.

"But sometimes, it's all worth it" Joan said honestly.

Annie smiled at her boss and nodded. They reached a silent agreement to mull over Joan's words of advice when the door to the private room opened.

A dark bush of hair peeked around the corner and he came fully into view when he opened the door fully.

"Hello ladies" he said, smiling at the older blonde at the table.

"Hello" both women spoke in sync.

He reached the table and placed a hand a top Joan's shoulders.

"Hope you don't mind, I figured this is where you would be, and it is eight o'clock" he nodded towards his watch.

Joan looked over at his wrist that was on her shoulder and noted it was eight on the dot.

"I'll just" Annie began, noting she was now about to interrupt a private dinner.

"Your car" Joan started.

"Is in front, waiting for you" Arthur interrupted.

"But how" Annie asked, getting up from the table, but not moving away.

"I had my on call driver drive me over in it. I'll catch a ride back with Joan" he smirked as he patted his wife's shoulder.

Annie nodded, slightly confused, but nonetheless glad she didn't have to sit through dinner as the third wheel.

"I've got a cab waiting for the driver, and he'll give you back your keys I took from your desk" Arthur said moving away from Joan as he pushed a chair closer to her side.

"Thank you" Annie said, watching as her boss' boss sat down next to her boss and take her hand in his.

Coming quickly upon the slightly open door she gave one last glance at the superior couple, finding her boss smiling at something her husband must have said.

As she closed the door to the private room, she figured maybe this Club Med without the drinks thing might just be the thing to get over her lost love.

Fin.


End file.
